The Psalms Prayerbook of the Bible

1. Why read/study/pray the Psalms?

1.Present us with our spiritual roots

2.Connect us with our Tradition

3.Provide us with model of how to pray

Spiritual Roots “The Psalms are … the supreme example in the OT of the human search for and experience of the living God. The Psalms give us glimpses into the inner religion of some of Israel’s select souls. Later generations can stand on their shoulders, catch some of their faith and vision, and can, in short, be led by them into the secret of the Most High.” Jerome Biblical Commentary

Our Tradition

• Prayed in Temple and synagogues • Jesus prayed the Psalms • Prayed and in early Church • Most quoted OT book in the NT • Core of Liturgy of the Hours “the official

prayer of the Church” • Featured in our Eucharistic Liturgy

Models of prayer • “the great power of the Psalms to raise minds to God, to inspire devotion,

to evoke gratitude in favorable times and to bring consolation and fortitude in times of trial.” (Intro Liturgy of the Hours)

• “a masterwork of prayer… [which] remain essential to the prayer of the Church” CCC 2585-2586

• “the Church loves the Psalms because in them she sings of her experience of God, … if we really come to know and love the Psalms, we will enter into the Church’s own experience of divine things. We will begin to know God as we ought. And that is why the Church believes the Psalms are the best possible way of praising God.” T. Merton

“The community uses, reuses, and reuses these same words because the words are known to be adequate and we have no better words to utter.” Walter Brueggemann

“[The Psalms present] … a spokenness that is daring and subversive, attuned to the reality of human hurt, to the splendor of holy power, to the seriousness of moral coherence, and to the possibility of cosmic and personal transformation. “… We not only reiterate these prayers in their timeless words now found timely but are authorized and nourished by these words to find our words, fresh words that are more resonant to our own experience, more congruent to our own life, more crucial to our own faith…”

2. Composition of the Psalter

• Psalmoi – (Gk) = w/ stringed instrument • Tehillim – (Hb) = praises • 150 / 5 “books” = collection of collections • Written between 900 and 300 BC • Collected after the Exile, in the 400s BC • Liturgical, intended to be sung • Authorship + David (73) • Superscriptions (116) • Psalms 1 and 2

3. Psalms as Prayer Poems • Laurence Perrine: “poetry might be defined as a

kind of language that says more and says it more intensely than does ordinary language”

• Poetry’s “purpose is not to soothe and relax, but to arouse + awake, to shock into life, to make one more alive…” Poetry is more “condensed + concentrated” and “has a higher voltage” than other literary forms, and applies “greater pressure per word” Sound and Sense

• Samuel Terrien: “Poetry takes its origin from

emotion recollected in tranquility.” The Psalms and Their Meaning for Today

• “In praying the Pss we thus share the experience of the poet wh/ is an authentic encounter w/ God. In communicating that experience, the poet eschews logic, preferring to capture its intensity by means of images and symbols.” J. Craghan

• “… what they (psalmists) were, we are” Chad Walsh

• “the poetic is a prerequisite for Christianity” K. Rahner

• “… Biblical poetry communicates mainly by calling forth

experiences and perceptions rather than making direct statements about reality” E. LaVerdierre

Hebrew Poetry • Parallelism = thought rhyme rather than word rhymes • “The dominant effect of parallel patterns is to intensify or

focus images, ideas, and themes” K. Schaefer • Synonymous – repetition of similar or identical

words/phrases in couplet form • Antithetic – 2nd line/phrase offers opposite or contrasting

counterpart • Inclusion – brackets [ ] Ps 8, 103, 104 • Chiasm – A – B – C – D – C’ – B’ – A’ Ps 8, 12, 26 • Imagery – God is wholly other, mystery,

incomprehensible CCC 42

Synonymous Parallelism

• The heavens declare the glory of God / and the firmament proclaims his handiwork Ps 19:2

• Bless the Lord, O my soul / and all my being, bless his

holy name Ps 103:1

• Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness / in the

greatness of your compassion, wipe out my offense Ps 51:3

• The Lord is king; the peoples tremble / he is throned upon the cherubim; the earth quakes Ps 99:1

Antithetic Parallelism

• The Lord watches over the way of the just, / but the way of the wicked leads to ruin Ps 1:6

• For evil doers shall be cut off, / but those who wait for the Lord shall possess the Land Ps 37:9

• A wise child makes a glad father/ but a foolish child is a mother’s grief Pvbs 10:1

• Wounds from a friend may be accepted as well meant / but the greetings of an enemy one prays against Pvbs 27:6

Psalm 8: Inclusion + Chiasm

• A Praise (1) • B God’s rule (2-3) • C human lowliness (4) • C’ human greatness (5) • B’ humanity’s rule (6-8) • A’ Praise (9)

Psalm 8

1. O LORD, our Lord, how awesome is your name through all the earth! You have set your majesty above the heavens! (A) Praise 2. Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have drawn a defense against your

foes, to silence enemy and avenger. 3. When I see your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and stars that

you set in place— (B) God’s Rule 4. What are humans that you are mindful of them, mere mortals that you care

for them? (C) Human Lowliness 5. You have made them little less than a god, crowned them with glory and

honor. (C’) Human Greatness 6. You have given them rule over the works of your hands, put all things at their

feet: all sheep and oxen, even the beasts of the field, 7. The birds of the air, the fish of the sea, and whatever swims the paths of the

seas. (B’) Humanity’s Rule 8. O LORD, our Lord, how awesome is your name through all the earth!

(A’) Praise

Psalm 12: Chiasm

• A lament (2-3) • B prayer/petition (4) • C evil people speak (5) • D God speaks a word of salvation (6) • C’ good people speak (7) • B’ prayer/petition (8) • A’ lament (9)

Psalm 12 (A) LAMENT 2 Help, LORD, for no one loyal remains; the faithful have vanished from the children of men. 3 They tell lies to one another, speak with deceiving lips and a double heart. (B) PRAYER 4 May the LORD cut off all deceiving lips, and every boastful tongue, (C) EVIL PEOPLE SPEAK 5 Those who say, “By our tongues we prevail; when our lips speak, who can lord it over us?” (D) GOD SPEAKS 6 “Because they rob the weak, and the needy groan, I will now arise,” says the LORD; “I will grant safety to whoever longs for it.” (C’) GOOD PEOPLE SPEAK 7 The promises of the LORD are sure, silver refined in a crucible, silver purified seven times. (B’) PRAYER 8 You, O LORD, protect us always; preserve us from this generation. (A’) LAMENT 9 On every side the wicked roam; the shameless are extolled by the children of men.

Imagery • Most High – 57:2 • Shepherd – 80:1 • King – 10:16 + • Judge – 7:8-12 • Father – 68:5 + • Mother – 131:2 • Eagle’s wings- 57:1 • Nurturing farmer – 80:8-12 • Rock – 18:2 + • Warrior awakened at last – 78:65-66 • Other imagery – 22:12-19

5. Psalm Types

• Praise / Hymns

• Laments

• Thanksgiving

• Royal

• Wisdom

Psalms of Praise

• “Anatomy of praise – the purpose of human existence is to praise God and it is the only mode that can lead to human happiness in this world. God is “enthroned on the praises of Israel” (Ps 22:3). Our human praise supports his majestic throne, he assumes residence in our praises.” H Bullock

• “The psalms are the responses of the worshiping community

to the initiative of God.” H Bullock

• Celebrates the joy of God’s presence / glory manifest in

human experience. Praise is never self-serving, but joyfully proclaims God’s goodness and compassion.

Psalm 117

Praise the LORD, all you nations! Give glory, all you peoples!

The LORD'S love for us is strong; the LORD is faithful forever. Hallelujah!

Psalm 149

1 Hallelujah! [INVITATION to PRAISE] Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of the faithful. 2 Let Israel be glad in its maker, the people of Zion rejoice in their king. 3 Let them praise his name in dance, make music with tambourine and lyre. [REASONS] 4 For the LORD takes delight in his people, honors the poor with victory. [INVITATION to PRAISE] 5 Let the faithful rejoice in their glory, cry out for joy on their couches, 6 With the praise of God in their mouths, and a two-edged sword in their hands, [REASONS] 7 To bring retribution on the nations, punishment on the peoples, 8 To bind their kings in shackles, their nobles in chains of iron, 9 To execute the judgments decreed for them— such is the glory of all God’s faithful. Hallelujah!

Psalms of Lament • reflects the experience of God’s absence, an “eclipse of

God” (M. Buber) • Conviction that the world is out of order, sometimes

because God has failed or enemies are triumphing unfairly. Psalmist often claims innocence

• Despite this, the Psalmist usually expresses unqualified trust in God’s good intention for them

• Laments call God to bring order and peace out of chaos, knowing that God manifested favor in the past.

• The lament was a form of praise based on the conviction that God is concerned about the people’s condition and answers the human cry in ways surpassing human expectation

Psalm 13 1 For the leader. A psalm of David 2 How long, LORD? Will you utterly forget me? How long will

you hide your face from me? 3 How long must I carry sorrow in my soul, grief in my heart

day after day? How long will my enemy triumph over me? 4 Look upon me, answer me, LORD, my God! Give light to my

eyes lest I sleep in death, 5 Lest my enemy say, "I have prevailed," lest my foes rejoice at

my downfall. 6 I trust in your faithfulness. Grant my heart joy in your help,

That I may sing of the LORD, "How good our God has been to me!"

Psalm 44:8-14

8 You have brought us victory over our enemies, shamed those who hate us.

9 In God we have boasted all the day long; your name we will praise forever.

10 But now you have rejected and disgraced us; you do not march out with our armies.

11 You make us retreat before the foe; those who hate us plunder us at will.

12 You hand us over like sheep to be slaughtered, scatter us among the nations.

13 You sell your people for nothing; you make no profit from their sale. 14 You make us the reproach of our neighbors, the mockery and scorn of

those around us…

Psalm 44:18-20, 24

18 … All this has come upon us, though we have not forgotten you, nor been disloyal to your covenant.

19 Our hearts have not turned back, nor have our steps strayed from your path.

20 You have left us crushed, desolate in a place of jackals; you have covered us with darkness…

24 Awake! Why do you sleep, O Lord? Rise up! Do not reject us forever!

How honest is your prayer?

“While the boldness and naked honesty of the psalmists may shock us, this attitude is nevertheless instructive for our own spiritual lives. We sometimes hold back too much from God, conceal our true feelings in prayer, and create a false image of ourselves at the heavenly throne of grace.” H Bullock

Psalms of Thanksgiving

• expresses gratitude for God’s intervention: for deliverance from distress, for petitions granted

• “the grateful product of escape from the crisis” • the other side of laments • “Gratitude is a spiritual virtue that opens the

door of the soul to the world around us. It creates a centrifugal force that causes the individual to look away from the self to God and to fellow human beings” H Bullock

Psalm 116:1-14

1 I love the LORD, who listened to my voice in supplication, 2 Who turned an ear to me on the day I called. 3 I was caught by the cords of death; the snares of Sheol had seized me; I felt

agony and dread. 4 Then I called on the name of the LORD, "O LORD, save my life!" 5 Gracious is the LORD and just; yes, our God is merciful. 6 The LORD protects the simple; I was helpless, but God saved me. 7 Return, my soul, to your rest; the LORD has been good to you. 8 For my soul has been freed from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from

stumbling. 9 I shall walk before the LORD in the land of the living. 10 I kept faith, even when I said, "I am greatly afflicted!" 11 I said in my alarm, "No one can be trusted!" 12 How can I repay the LORD for all the good done for me? 13 I will raise the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD. 14 I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people.

Royal Psalms • King as mediator between God + people • God’s son, anointed (messiah) • His rule = source of divine blessing in society (72:17)

because he rules as God rules = compassion/care for poor, lowly

• Ps 45:3 – “You are the most handsome of men; fair speech has graced your lips, for God has blessed you forever”

• Ps 21 – “majesty and splendor you conferred upon him”

• = source of messianic hope

Psalm 21

2 O LORD, the king finds joy in your power; in your victory how greatly he rejoices! 3 You have granted him his heart’s desire; you did not refuse the request of his lips. 4 For you welcomed him with goodly blessings; you placed on his head a crown of pure gold. 5 He asked life of you; you gave it to him, length of days forever. 6 Great is his glory in your victory; majesty and splendor you confer upon him. 7 You make him the pattern of blessings forever, you gladden him with the joy of your face. 8 For the king trusts in the LORD, stands firm through the mercy of the Most High…

9 Your hand will find all your enemies; your right hand will find your foes! 10 At the time of your coming you will make them a fiery furnace. Then the LORD in his anger will consume them, devour them with fire. 11 Even their descendants you will wipe out from the earth, their offspring from the human race. 12 Though they intend evil against you, devising plots, they will not succeed, 13 For you will put them to flight; you will aim at their faces with your bow. 14 Arise, LORD, in your power! We will sing and chant the praise of your might.

Wisdom Psalms

• Non-cultic, didactic, reflections on life, happiness, =/= prayers

• Emphasize retribution • “Two-ways” = goodness/success or

wickedness/failure • Cf. Ps 1, 37

Psalm 37

1 Do not be provoked by evildoers; do not envy those who do wrong. 2 Like grass they wither quickly; like green plants they wilt away. 3 Trust in the LORD and do good that you may dwell in the land and live secure. 4 Find your delight in the LORD who will give you your heart’s desire. 5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will act 6 And make your righteousness shine like the dawn, your justice like noonday…

18 The LORD knows the days of the blameless; their heritage lasts forever. 19 They will not be ashamed when times are bad; in days of famine they will be satisfied. 20 The wicked perish, enemies of the LORD; They shall be consumed like fattened lambs; like smoke they disappear. 21 The wicked one borrows but does not repay; the righteous one is generous and gives. 22 For those blessed by the Lord will inherit the earth, but those accursed will be cut off…

Orientation / Disorientation / New Orientation

“Our life of faith consists in moving with God in

terms of (a) being securely oriented, (b) being painfully disoriented, and (c) being surprisingly reoriented.” W. Brueggemann , Praying the Psalms

Orientation: Hymns of Praise

human life consists in satisfied seasons of well-being that evoke gratitude for the constancy of blessing. Life is equitable, symmetrical, and well-proportioned. These psalms express joy, delight, goodness, coherence, and reliability of God, God’s creation, and God’s governing law. Cf. Ps 104, 145

Disorientation: Psalms of Lament

there are, however, life situations that drive us to the edge of our humanness, situations of extremity for which conventional equilibrium offers no adequate base. These times point to the deep discontinuities in our lives; they generate passion and eloquence, and turn us towards God. In these psalms human life consists in anguished seasons of hurt, alienation, suffering, and death. They contain rage, resentment, self-pity, and hatred, Ps 35, 137

New Orientation: Psalms of Thanksgiving

human life consists in turns of surprise when we are overwhelmed with the new gifts of God, when joy breaks through the despair. Where there has been only darkness, there is now light. This is not a return to the old orientation as though nothing had happened. It is rather “all things new.” And when it happens, it is always a surprise, always a gift of graciousness, and always an experience that evokes gratitude, cf. Ps 114, 34

6. Theological Worldview of the Psalms

• God is King

• Creation vs. Chaos

• Covenant Fidelity

• God’s Justice and Retribution

• Life, Death, Suffering, and Sheol

God is King

• cosmic ruler of world • creator • advocate of justice • giver of military victories • more powerful than any other gods • God of “unsearchable greatness” • vs. Baal

Creation vs. Chaos – Psalm 74:12-15

Yet you, God, are my king from of old, winning victories throughout the earth. You stirred up the sea in your might; you smashed the heads of the dragons on the waters. You crushed the heads of Leviathan*, tossed him for food to the sharks. You opened up springs and torrents, brought dry land out of the primeval waters. *mythological sea monster

Covenant Fidelity

• The most prominent quality of God mentioned all throughout the Psalms is “hesed” – i.e. loving kindness, mercy, love

• The Lord is “a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity” – Ex 34:6

Covenant Fidelity – Psalm 132:11-18 The LORD swore an oath to David, a pledge never to be

broken: "Your own offspring I will set upon your throne. If your sons observe my covenant, the laws I shall teach them,

Their sons, in turn, shall sit forever on your throne." Yes, the LORD has chosen Zion, desired it for a dwelling: "This is my resting place forever; here I will dwell, for I desire

it. I will bless Zion with meat; its poor I will fill with bread. I will clothe its priests with blessing; its faithful shall shout for

joy. There I will make a horn sprout for David's line; I will set a lamp for my anointed. His foes I will clothe with shame, but on him my crown shall

gleam."

God’s Justice and Retribution

• Theology of Retribution – virtue merits rewards of prosperity: long life, health, many children, etc.

• No concept of heaven /hell until last centuries B.C.

• God’s justice is based on a deeds – consequences system inherent in creation

• “How good God is to the upright; to those who are clean of heart!” – Psalm 73:1

• Challenged later in Job, Ecclesiastes, Wisdom

God’s Justice and Retribution – Psalm 37:1-10 Do not be provoked by evildoers; do not envy those who do wrong. Like

grass they wither quickly; like green plants they wilt away. Trust in the LORD and do good that you may dwell in the land and live

secure. Find your delight in the LORD who will give you your heart's desire.

Commit your way to the LORD; trust that God will act. And make your integrity shine like the dawn, your vindication like noonday.

Be still before the LORD; wait for God. Do not be provoked by the prosperous, nor by malicious schemers.

Give up your anger, abandon your wrath; do not be provoked; it brings only harm.

Those who do evil will be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD will possess the land.

Wait a little, and the wicked will be no more; look for them and they will not be there.

Life, Death, Suffering, Sheol

• No real life after death, only the abode of the dead or nether world – Heb. ‘Sheol’

• No activity, surrounded by the darkness of oblivion, worst = separation from God!

• “In your [God’s] presence there is fullness of joy” Psalm 16:11

• Sheol envisioned as active at times and a metaphor for distress: “the cords of the nether world enmeshed me” Psalm 18:6

Life, Death, Suffering, Sheol – Psalm 88:4-9

For my soul is filled with troubles; my life draws near to Sheol.

I am reckoned with those who go down to the pit; I am weak, without strength.

My couch is among the dead, with the slain who lie in the grave.

You remember them no more; they are cut off from your care.

You plunged me into the bottom of the pit, into the darkness of the abyss.

Your wrath lies heavy upon me; all your waves crash over me… I am imprisoned, and I cannot escape.

Life, Death, Suffering, Sheol – Psalm 88:11-13

Do you work wonders for the dead? Do the shades arise and praise you? Is your love proclaimed in the grave, your fidelity

in the tomb? Are your marvels declared in the darkness, your

righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?

Songs of Zion • Celebrate the abiding presence of God in the

Jerusalem temple as symbol of security – cf. 46:1-3

• 48:1-3 “the city of our God, … his holy mountain,… fairest of all heights,… the joy of all the earth”

• 84:5 “happy are they who dwell in your house” • 76:3 “God’s dwelling is in Zion” • 50:2 “From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines

forth”

• Jerusalem is the earthly manifestation of the heavenly Temple, cf. Ex 25:9; Ex 40

• Mt. Zion, the Temple and the city around it are a symbol of God’s transcendence.

• Ps 24 – the Temple is a place of electrifying holiness that cannot tolerate injustice, cf. Jer 7:1-15, John 2:13 ff

• Zion replaced Sinai as the primary locus of God’s presence, rule, covenant. Cf. John 1:14 – the Word “made his dwelling among us”

Theological Conclusions: Psalms and the Life of Faith

1. The Lord reigns supreme. Idols falter. God’s truth and power cannot be compromised or defeated.

2. God’s orderly creation is ongoing, but stands in constant tension with the destructive power of sin present in the world.

3. God invites each of us into a faith relationship characterized by His incredible love, mercy and kindness. God will always be “for” us.

4. Our faithfulness leads to Life and well-being rather than darkness and isolation.

7. Christ in the Psalms “What other prophets announced in enigmas seems to have been promised quite openly to the psalmist alone… in the book of Psalms, not only is Jesus born to us: he accepts too his saving passion, he dies, he rises from the dead and ascends into heaven and sits at the Father’s right hand. The psalmist alone announced what no other had dared to say, and what was later preached in the gospel by the Lord himself.” St. Ambrose of Milan

Christ in the Psalms

“The Psalms are full of the Incarnate Word. In other words the Psalms in themselves contain all the Old and New Testaments, the whole mystery of Christ. In singing the Psalms each day, the Church is therefore singing the wedding hymn of her union with God in Christ.” Thomas Merton

Christ in the Psalms

“He [risen Christ] said to them, ‘These are my words that I spoke while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures.” Luke 24:44

Psalms in the NT • Over 400 references from 60 psalms • 35 psalms directly quoted • Psalm 2 and 110 are cited most often • Affirm that Christ is:

a) the long awaited messiah / God’s anointed One b) to counter the scandal of the cross (cf. Deut 21:22-23)

as a part of God’s overall plan

“Messianic” Psalms

The early Church quickly came to understand that several psalms speak fairly clearly of Jesus as (1) anointed messiah and (2) suffering servant, especially 2, 72, 89, 110, 118, 132, 22, 31, 69.

“The Jewish People and Their Scriptures in the Christian Bible” #21, PBC, 2002

“It would be wrong to consider the prophecies of the

OT as some kind of photographic anticipations of future events. All the texts, including those that were later read as messianic prophecies, already had an immediate import and meaning for their contemporaries before attaining a fuller meaning for their future hearers. The messiahship of Jesus has a meaning that is new and original.” cf. www.vatican.va.

Psalm 110 The LORD says to you, my lord: "Take your throne at my right hand,

while I make your enemies your footstool." 2 The scepter of your sovereign might the LORD will extend from Zion.

The LORD says: "Rule over your enemies! 3 Yours is princely power from the day of your birth. In holy splendor

before the daystar, like the dew I begot you." 4 The LORD has sworn and will not waver: "Like Melchizedek you are a

priest forever." 5 At your right hand is the Lord, who crushes kings on the day of

wrath, 6 Who, robed in splendor, judges nations, crushes heads across the

wide earth, 7 Who drinks from the brook by the wayside and thus holds high the

head.

Psalm 2:6-9

6 "I myself have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain."

7 I will proclaim the decree of the LORD, who said to me, "You are my son; today I am your father.

8 Only ask it of me, and I will make your inheritance the nations, your possession the ends of the earth.

9 With an iron rod you shall shepherd them, like a clay pot you will shatter them."

Psalm 132:10-18 10 For the sake of David your servant, do not reject your anointed. 11 The LORD swore an oath to David, a pledge never to be broken:

"Your own offspring I will set upon your throne. 12 If your sons observe my covenant, the laws I shall teach them, Their

sons, in turn, shall sit forever on your throne." 13 Yes, the LORD has chosen Zion, desired it for a dwelling: 14 "This is my resting place forever; here I will dwell, for I desire it. 15 I will bless Zion with meat; its poor I will fill with bread. 16 I will clothe its priests with blessing; its faithful shall shout for joy. 17 There I will make a horn sprout for David's line; I will set a lamp for

my anointed. 18 His foes I will clothe with shame, but on him my crown shall gleam."

Psalm 22:15-19 15 Like water my life drains away; all my bones

grow soft. My heart has become like wax, it melts away within me.

16 As dry as a potsherd is my throat; my tongue sticks to my palate; you lay me in the dust of death.

17 Many dogs surround me; a pack of evildoers closes in on me. So wasted are my hands and feet

18 that I can count all my bones. They stare at me and gloat;

19 they divide my garments among them; for my clothing they cast lots.

Psalm 31:10-18 10 Be gracious to me, LORD, for I am in distress; with grief my eyes are

wasted, my soul and body spent. 11 My life is worn out by sorrow, my years by sighing. My strength fails in

affliction; my bones are consumed. 12 To all my foes I am a thing of scorn, to my neighbors, a dreaded sight, a

horror to my friends. When they see me in the street, they quickly shy away.

13 I am forgotten, out of mind like the dead; I am like a shattered dish. 14 I hear the whispers of the crowd; terrors are all around me. They

conspire against me; they plot to take my life. 15 But I trust in you, LORD; I say, "You are my God." 16 My times are in your hands; rescue me from my enemies, from the

hands of my pursuers. 17 Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your kindness. 18 Do not let me be put to shame, for I have called to you, LORD. Put the

wicked to shame; reduce them to silence in Sheol.

Psalm 69:17-22

17 Answer me, LORD, in your generous love; in your great mercy turn to me.

18 Do not hide your face from your servant; in my distress hasten to answer me.

19 Come and ransom my life; because of my enemies redeem me.

20 You know my reproach, my shame, my disgrace; before you stand all my foes.

21 Insult has broken my heart, and I am weak; I looked for compassion, but there was none, for comforters, but found none.

22 Instead they put gall in my food; for my thirst they gave me vinegar.

“The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone” Ps 118:22

8. “Psalms: a School of Prayer” Konrad Schaefer

“The psalms are reflected

experience. Their cadences, words, and imagery reproduce movements of the human spirit as it relates to God and thus makes the experience accessible.”

“The psalms open a door to the spiritual life … where both the poet and the orante (‘the devout person who prays them’) find a home. Both are searchers. Each helps the other arrive at the richest meaning from the prayer. The poet provides the words and images, and the orante infuses them with new meaning…

“The orante in search of deeper religious experience adopts the psalms and thus allows them to guide him/her in recreating the experience. A transaction takes place where the ancient expressions become contemporary. The poet’s sentiment is translated into the heart of the orante…”

“The psalms touch the orante in their expression of joy, gratitude, desolation, alienation from God, hope… The orante captures the experience inasmuch as it invades him/her intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually. Appreciation grows at the same rate as personal involvement, and in this way the meaning the psalm bears for one’s life expresses itself in prayer and is manifested in virtue.”

Write Your Own Psalm

• Begin in prayer • Select an emotion / sentiment / disposition = P/L/T or

O/D/NO • Address it to God/Jesus Christ/Holy Spirit • Make it personal (individual or communal) [I, me, our] • It’s poetry – try to mimic the Biblical style = parallelism • Use descriptive, figurative language – images • Be honest, forthright • Better to emulate 117 than 119!!

Write Your Own Psalm

• Begin in prayer • Select an emotion / sentiment / disposition = P/L/T or

O/D/NO • Address it to God/Jesus Christ/Holy Spirit • Make it personal (individual or communal) [I, me, our] • It’s poetry – try to mimic the Biblical style = parallelism • Use descriptive, figurative language – images • Be honest, forthright • Better to emulate 117 than 119!! • Due next class